Real Life – Page 16 – The Kind Healer

Welcome (Again)

*Looks around another new space.*

It has to be said, that as a person whom likes to write on occasion, it may have been a serious mistake for me to get involved in a blog. ;) In any event, I’ve been wanting to write short snippets of things ever since I got deeply involved in Second Life, but started with just an in-world notecard (which is both painful and not easy to maintain on a regular basis, or away from home).

I did finally get involved with a blogging site for a while, a site called SLBlogger that was catering to SL Avatars. I joined in, and had a few posts, but it was taken down in short order due to ‘external circumstances’ (aka it was hacked and the blog vendor did not have a patch anytime soon). It would appear to be up again soon, but I’ve had to move beyond that anyway.

I’m now hosting, via my own domain and site, files that go beyond SL. Files such as the Until Uru KI patch, which was available elsewhere at some point but has disappeared since. The site (and now the blog) will likely be balanced more toward Uru from time to time, and as such I cannot justify it staying on SLBlogger.

I will, however, re-post entries to here once I get back in again.

-Alan

[SLB Import] London

As someone who lives in the NYC Metro area, I found the explosions in London worrisome. As it always does when I end up adding a new memorial to my private collection.

Of course like everyone else I checked in on folks I knew who could have been there. So far I’ve heard from everyone, so I’ve been happy.

But my heart as always goes out to those effected over there. Just as it did on 9/11 (perhaps a little too much, but I have my reasons – reference my back posts), or during the tsunami, or whenever a major disaster strikes. It is just my nature. My aspect in later life has been of the Healer, the caring, kind person who likes to help.

Perhaps this is why the Numbakulla story, and the Uru story, resonate in me so much. And why SL tugs at me so much as well.

–Alan

[SLB Import] Mystic Radio closes its streaming service

For anyone who visited my rental land on Tavarua, or other similar areas that I frequent (some of them on my picks list), you probably heard some interesting music from it. Soothing, quiet, and perhaps bordering more towards ‘new age’ (though I have no issue with that genre).

That music stream came from the site Mystic Radio, a recent find and one that fit the land almost perfectly. Unfortunately, as of a couple days ago, they closed their virtual doors and the website just has a sad farewell notice.

I’m of course saddened to see this, as I cannot think of any other music URL that I’d regularly pump into my land (and yes, I donated to them at one point, by using one of their sponsor links to buy my LightStone device). Ah well, I suppose for now the quiet will do.

[SLB Import] Uru saved my soul

Yes, that’s one hell of a statement I’ve made there, but is a correct one.

Flip back to 9/11/01. I lost two co-workers who were also good friends. One of them taught me how some of our app works, so now checking it I always think of him. And of course they were visiting that day, was not their normal office.

My next two years afterward were a bit of a blur really, due to a darkness that settled over me; I honestly cannot remember most of it. I had moved to 3rd shift as my apathy came to an all-time low, and had settled into a routine that helped to slowly climb out of it.

November 2003, two things happened: New notebook, and Uru came out. The notebook was to create a fresh start, mark a new time in my life (I did the same with the car, in getting my first Prius one month later). Uru, however, I waited on since like all games I now waited due to patches and bugs. Plus I was extremely skeptical of Live at the time.

Well, after X-mas that year, I had spent some money getting the Myst Anniversary DVDs, and played them. I realized that I should try Uru after all, and got it. And finished it two days later. And applied for Live, for the heck of it.

I got in quickly enough, as one of the ‘Accounting Error’ group just after New Years. It was laggy, and overcrowded, and problematic. But realized from talking to others online that I had found a new group of friends. That *we* were going to be the story, for which an ending should not have been written.

But, alas, it was. The shutdown occured on my birthday no less. And yes, I’m still bitter at Ubisoft over this. I’ve been through the hell called the Diablo 2 server issues, and Uru Live was nothing like that, never would have been like that. It just needed time, and they were not given it; That’s it.

So why do I stand by this claim of Uru saving my soul? Many reasons. It introduced me to forum culture. It gave me a new circle of friends that I could understand and be with, even at my hours. And most importantly, it gave me a direction again – which I needed badly to get out of that darkness my soul was in.

But with Live offline, there was uncertainty of what I would do next. I swore off online games totally for a while, and forums as well for a bit. But I began seeking, and quietly heard of some places where people were trying this again.

That’s when I heard about Second Life…

[SLB Import] Well, Well….

*looks around the new, empty space*

I’m taking a rather interesting step with this. My preferences since college has been to keep a low profile on the Internet. Hell of a story behind that, but not certain even now if I can relay it.

Perhaps Torley leaving SL, like the death of someone I knew about in Uru, is spurring me on. I will have to see.

I’m going to keep this down to the main things I discuss in the notecard I was building in Tavarua (which will eventually transfer here): InnerLife, Uru, and SL. Like this post, I may also include a RL point from time to time, will have to see…